Bushcraft Gear – 7 Of The Best Bushcraft Tools For Survival

Bushcraft Gear For The Serious Survivalist

The ability to invent, create and use tools are one of the major ways humans differ from animals. Bushcraft gear is the group of tools we first invented as a species. The gear we first crafted from sticks, stones, and bones found in nature. In order to make knives, arrows, spears, fire, shelters, etc.

The best bushcraft gear is the tools that give the ability to make a large array of other tools. For example, having a bushcraft knife opens up a world of possibilities to build hundreds of other useful tools and items.

Before humans became advanced engineers and scientists, we played by the rules of nature. If you go back far enough in history, survival was an everyday endeavor; it was the only lifestyle we knew.

There was no comfortable couch waiting for us at home, or steamy hot shower either. There were no grocery stores and no prepackaged food to meet our hunger pains.

And worse yet, no indoor plumbing so when “nature called”, we were already there because the wild was our home.

Living in those circumstances required a very particular set of tools and skills. What we today call bushcraft.

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So What Is Bushcraft?

Over the years we’ve refined and perfected our instruments of survival. And bushcraft became an art form, much like martial arts or rock climbing.

For centuries the tools have remained unchanged while our computers and iPhones seem to evolve every few weeks. However, bushcraft gear and tools are timeless.

Today living in a remote off-grid wilderness is much the same as it was for our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Our bodies need the same securities: fire, shelter, food, and water. And the tools used to secure those needs are impressive in their simplicity and functionality.

Now, in today’s society, we typically don’t get to choose when and where and under what circumstances we end up stranded in the wilderness. So a collection of bushcraft tools does you no good stored in your garage.

For example, if you go down in a plane over the high country, you’re not going to have many bushcraft tools with you. (And if somehow you do, kudos, that’s impressive).

So I’ve compiled a list of the best, most essential bushcraft gear. I’ll describe their purpose, where you can buy them and a brief explanation of how to improvise each. But first, let’s get one important definition out of the way:

Bushcraft is the art of surviving in the woods. The official definition is:

“The skill gained by or necessary for living in bush country.”

But I’m going to applying the term more generally in this article. I am not limiting it to surviving “in the woods or forest” but to in the wilderness at large.

Surviving in the mountains, lost in the woods, stranded on an island, or traversing a desert. Bushcraft is the art of survival anywhere. And bushcraft gear is useful in any survival situation.

Bushcraft Gear – The 7 Essential Tools You Must Own and How To Make Them In Nature

1 – Survival Hatchet

If you haven’t read Gary Paulsen’s book, Hatchet, you need to do yourself a favor and get it now. The book follows a young man, stranded in the wilderness with nothing but his trusty hatchet.

He then uses this hatchet to survive through a winter in the wild alone. It’s an incredible example of how versatile and useful bushcraft gear can be.

With a quality survival hatchet, you can cut wood for fire, shape branches for arrows/bows to hunt for food or build a shelter. The possibilities are endless! Which is exactly why I bring a hatchet with me on every excursion I go on.

For the most part, using a hatchet is relatively straightforward: just hack away. And, if the hatchet’s edge is sharp enough you can also use it to shave and score wood.

There are tons of places to buy a hatchet. Any outdoor store or hardware worth visiting will carry an assortment of hatchets.

And if you search online, you’ll find a selection of brands, shapes, weights, and styles to choose from. You’ll be able to find the right hatchet for you regardless of your style, need, or budgetary restrictions.

If weight is your primary concern, then go with this Friskers 14-inch hatchet. This hatchet one only weights 1.4 lbs due to its light (yetstill strong) Nyglass (nylon/fiberglass composite) handle construction.

Improvising a Hatchet

The most important part of any hatchet is the head. It needs to be thick and sharp. However, it doesn’t need to win a beauty contest.

There are a lot of things that you can use to achieve this. Scrap metal and sharpened stones are usually the best improvisation options.

Once you have a hatchet head selected, lash it securely to a handle using cordage. When you are sure the head will not come flying like a lethal projectile, it should be good to go.

Improvising a Knife

Improvising a fixed blade cutting tool is far more efficient than wasting time, energy, and resources trying to make a folding knife.

Sure, you can do it. But if you’re in a survival situation and need to make something functional, go with a fixed blade knife. Fix blade knives are easier to make, and they get the job done.

The concept of improvising a survival knife is similar to making a hatchet: you need a handle and a blade.

Blades are relatively easy to come by, just think like a jailbird and shive up. Use sharpened scraps of metal, sharpened stones, even glass can work.

Handles can be either fastened to the blade with cord/tape or made entirely by wrapping tape around the end until you have something to grip. (A note on using glass: not all shards of glass will work well as a knife blade – but some forms of glass, like obsidian, are better than even the sharpest metals).

3 – Survival Saws

When you are dealing in the wilderness, efficiently cutting wood is a lifesaving skill. And even armed with a hatchet and a pocket knife, you are not going to be removing felled trees from across trials. You won’t be able to cut precise lengths of wood for home building.

For that, you need a saw.

Saws are an ultimate bushcraft tool. Even if, in your day to day life you never need a saw, when bush crafting you’re undoubtedly going to use it. And use it often. That saw is going to be essential, I guarantee it.

But no one is going to lug their table saw with them in a “shit hits the fan” scenario. So here is a short list of my favorite survival saws.

Forester Survival Pocket Handsaw – This saw fits in your pocket, it’s lightweight and effective at cutting branches. Yes, it would be tough to bring down a tree with this one, but hopefully, you won’t have to.

Gerber Saw Folding Gator – Comes with a fancy little pack making for easy packing. The saw is a lightweight bow saw, with easily replaceable teeth.

Gerber Vital Pack Saw – This is a small, super packable backpacking saw. It will easily fit into some unused nook or cranny of your pack.

As A Way To Introduce You To Skilled Survival, We're Giving Away Our Ultimate List Of Survival Gear.Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy Of It.

How to Improvise a Saw

Improvising a saw in nature is a bit tricky. Saw blades are both precise and unnatural as far as bushcraft gear goes. So you won’t find them lying around in nature.

The closest thing to making an improvised saw is to make a wire saw.

To do this, you will need two key rings, and a length of coarse wire (electrical fencing wire, stripped electrical wires, etc.). Measure out roughly 3 feet of wire and slip the first key-ring halfway along the wire.

Start twisting the wire around itself from the middle (so that you can use the key-ring as a handle). Continue twisting until you get to the end, and incorporate the other key-ring.

The twisted coarse wire should function as a wire saw. But remember this improvised version is nowhere near as effective as the real deal. But it’s better than nothing in a pinch.

4 – Flint and Striker

Fire is the granddaddy of a survival essential. I never leave the house without a lighter on me. I keep packs of stormproof matches in every backpack I own and bring a flint and striker on most trips.

I don’t usually use the flint/striker because I don’t usually need to. But the age-old spark making duo has saved countless lives over the years.

The best part about a striker and flint is that they even work if they get wet. So if you want to keep an emergency fire starter on your boat, you should use one of these. If you plan on backpacking through a coastal region, use a flint and striker instead of matches.

Lots of outdoor manufacturers and survival companies make flint and striker setups. Some are cheap and lightweight; others are a little more expensive and flashier. But they all serve the same purpose, and they are all reliable.

At only $8.99 (at the time of this post) this is by far one of the more economical ways to go. Buy a bunch of these and store one in your car, one in your bug out bag, and one in your backpacking pack.

Improvising a Flint and Striker

The best part about this piece of bushcraft gear is the fact that it does exist in nature.

Unlike a saw or a knife, you can find the materials for a flint and striker laying around. Find two rocks that spark when banging them together. And then get banging.

Or, use a piece of metal to strike against a stone at an angle to generate some sparks.

Not all stone will work, so you may have to try a few different types. But sparks are possible to make in nature without any man-made supplies.

5 – Compasses

With luck, you will never get lost in the woods without a compass. They are essential not only to bushcraft but all outdoor activities.

Whether you are hunting, hiking, fishing, kayaking or camping having a true sense of direction is key.

It makes it easier to explore the unknown and find your way back safely. There is nothing worse than getting lost; compasses help you avoid that.

However, investing in a compass relies heavily on how much you want to spend and how you’re planning to use it.

As A Way To Introduce You To Skilled Survival, We're Giving Away Our Ultimate List Of Survival Gear.Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy Of It.

Now obviously, these are not made for survival, but it illustrates the variety available.

Find one that serves your needs and fits your budget.

Improvising a Compass

Despite being a clever article of technology, the compass is simple to recreate in nature. And it requires only a few basic supplies.

Find a quiet pool of water – preferably a bowl, but in a pinch, a still puddle will work too. Get your hands on a metal needle. A sewing needle works but small lengths of wire also works so long as the metal is magnetic (i.e. contains iron, cobalt or nickel).

Next, place the needle on something that floats (a leaf or a small chunk of cork or on a small piece of wood) and gently set it into the center of the still water.

Make sure there is no breeze or wind.

The needle should align according to Earth’s magnetic field. This alignment indicates North and South. Magnetic needles are a tried and tested method, but requires a bit of patience and very stable conditions (i.e. still water and air).

6 – Whetstones

Equally important to any bladed bushcraft gear, are the tools which sharpen them. Whetstones have been around for as long as bladed tools have, and are vital to maintaining a sharp blade.

Here is a good video to learn the techniques of sharpening knives.

Get the stone wet, and run the blade backward along the rock’s surface at a consistent 20-degree angle. Repeat this until the edge begins to sharpen.

Make sure you get a whetstone with a coarse grit side and a fine grit side. These are by far the best for honing your blade edges.

Here are a few more unique ways to sharpen a blade.

Improvising a Whetstone

Almost all whetstones you find on the market are made from artificial stone. Plus, the material particles are all the same size and grit found in nature.

Finding sharpening stones in the wilderness is difficult. You need something very flat, smooth, and dense.

I have heard of people using cinder blocks to hone a rough edge, or flat river stones high in quartz. But finding a random rock that will work well to sharpen your blades is going to be a difficult undertaking.

7 – Fishing Line and Hooks

These two items are so light, cheap, and packable that every survivalist should carry them.

Hooks and line fit into small zip locks and weight close to nothing. And fishing is an essential bushcraft survival skill.

You don’t have to have a full fishing rig to catch something; you just need a line, a hook, and some bait.

Improvising Fishing Lines and Hooks

As far as bushcraft gear goes, it doesn’t get much simpler than this. So you need to get your hands on some thin line, and a few aluminum can tops.

The can tops can be cut or broken/bent into a near-perfect improvised fish hook. Find some bait, and you are ready to cast your line.

The Final Word

Of any life skill, I would argue that Bushcraft is one of the most important. Kids who grow up never learning how to use a hatchet or to whittle things with pocket knives are missing out.

They also are not being adequately prepared to handle themselves in the real ‘real’ world. There is always time to learn, though. It is never too late to get out into the wild and start practicing bushcraft. Who knows, you may even master the art.

Of course, no bushman was ever successful without their trusty bushcraft gear. The gear essential to the trade. And without them, you will struggle to survive in the wilderness.

The bottom line is owning key bushcraft gear is an essential preparation. But knowing how to improvise any one of these bushcraft tools is equally important. Because you never know when you might get stranded in the remote wilderness.

As A Way To Introduce You To Skilled Survival, We're Giving Away Our Ultimate List Of Survival Gear.Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy Of It.

About Will Brendza

Will Brendza is an American writer who spends most of his free time bogged down in fearless and wild wilderness adventures. He is a student of science, a lover of nature and a believer in Earthly stewardship.

When he isn't involved with brave acts of reckless lunacy, he can be found at craft breweries, deep in the Colorado wilderness or nowhere at all.

Comments

This was a very interesting article and refocused my thinking on basic tools and basic skills. For too long I’ve been focused on gadgets and things to make life easy. What I’ve been reminded of, as a result of reading this article, is that I have been “missing out”. I need to get out and practice the use of basic tools and basic skills, to reawaken dormant muscle memory and have the satisfaction of using those basic skills. Thank You!!